Adventures in Utah: Plans & Arrival

Adventures In Utah: Plans & Arrival 4/9/21

In January 2021, Jim and I debated how/when/if we could attempt safe COVID-19 cabin fever travel somewhere…anywhere. With the advent of a vaccine in the spring, we began investigating where we felt we could social distance and enjoy being outside – national parks and other public lands. Gee, how smart were we (and about a gazillion other folks)?

Utah calling, we’re open for business! (Well, yes and no.)

We invited our friends Cathy and Mike to join us and booked flights. Then I got busy with a wish list of what we wanted to see and do. I learned many things:

- The national parks had capacity limitations on parking and transportation shuttles
- Many Zion NP trails were closed (for trail repairs)
- Some public lands were seasonally closed and would not be open during our visit
- All tribal lands were closed with no foreseeable opening dates, as COVID was devastating Native American communities

Some good news:

- There are five national parks in Utah, but there were so many other public lands that we decided to visit just two parks (Zion and Bryce) and explore a little more off the beaten path
- Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was vast, stunningly beautiful, and open with lower visitation than the NP’s
- Utah’s state parks are uh-mazing
- The weather was mild, chill in the morning and comfortable in the afternoon (always wear your sunscreen)

We flew to Las Vegas, vaxxed but cautious [there is social distancing on planes to Vegas, right???]  Jim had set up an SUV rental at a nearby hotel/casino (much cheaper than at the airport). We buckled up for a six-hour drive to Escalante, Utah.

Experience has taught us that going to the farthest point of our itinerary on the first day and working our way back to the vicinity of the airport for our last day relieves the heartburn of making our departure flight. More on that later.

This was Jim’s first time in the Southwest and I was excited for him to experience the richness of the desert. Even on the interstate, it’s a gorgeous drive (at 80 mph). 

Scenic Byway 12 is an attraction on its own, passing through miles of jaw-dropping scenery that must be seen to be believed. The paved two-lane road stretches for 120+ miles between Highway 89 (west) and Highway 24 (east). You can plan your whole vacation based on public lands, state parks, national forests, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Moment, Bryce Canyon National Park and “scenic backways” off of Byway 12. Read all about it here. 

Our home for the first three nights was an Airbnb 3BR 2BA house in a residential neighborhood in Escalante, a small grid of streets and wide-open space beyond. The house had an inviting front porch and relaxing décor with Southwest personality – a comfortable place to land at the end of each day.

We unloaded and set off to explore our town. All of its businesses lined a few blocks of Byway 12 and some were closed even though it was a Friday night. The timing of our visit was a bit early for prime time, but even more, the pandemic had done damage to this part of the state’s tourism lifeline.

After a marathon day of traveling, nothing else to do except get in line to order pizza and beer at Escalante Outfitters. Tomorrow morning we’ll hit the trail.

“The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.”  ~J.R.R. Tolkien